Question:

Single cockatiel laying eggs

My single albino cockatiel has laid 3 sets of eggs since Jan., How do I stop her laying another set of eggs?

Are hemp seeds helpful for hormonal cockatiel behavior?

Answer:

Hi Barbara,

That’s definitely too many eggs already. As I know you viewed the webinar, your question was covered in both of our webinars on hormonal pet birds. To summarize, you can try reducing the daylight hours to 8-10 by covering the cage in the early evening. Do not give her anything to use as a nest, nothing she can shred to use as nesting material, limit petting to head scratches, cut back fresh foods to a couple of times a week. You also asked about hemp seeds which did not get discussed. A lot of parrot owners feel like hemp seeds trigger hormones in their birds. I am not aware of any evidence either way. Sterilized hemp seeds have been part of seed mixes for pet birds for decades. But given some owners strongly feel hemp seeds make their hormonal birds worse, it is probably best not to offer those to her.